How to Run with Horses
with the Hope of Grace in the Race.
Good Morning Friends,
Well neither Lucky Pulpit nor Rousing Sermon, who he sired, will be in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Another horse that will not be running, in what is called the most exciting two minutes in sports, is Valediction. My daughter, Jessica, yesterday mentioned to me that Sam Simon producer of “The Simpsons,” “Cheers,” and “The Drew Carey Show,” just rescued that racehorse from what some say is an abusive sport. I imagine the Hollywood producer, who is giving away his fortune before he dies of cancer, was taken with the cause. But perhaps the name of the horse was a reason as well. Valediction is from the Latin, vale dicere, means ‘to say farewell.’ Regardless of the name, the purchaser of our salvation, as reflected in this story, as reflected in Jesus’ parting words to “get up and go”, is worthy of our attention. So, today on this Derby Day we explore scripture on horses as a metaphor for our training and the power of words that teach us How to Run with Horses with the Hope of Grace in the Race.
Scripture: You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. Ezekiel 34:4 (NIV)
“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?
Jeremiah 12:5 (NIV)
“Do you give the horse his might? Do you clothe his neck with a mane? Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying. He paws in the valley and exults in his strength; he goes out to meet the weapons. He laughs at fear and is not dismayed; he does not turn back from the sword. Upon him rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin.
Job 39:19-25 (ESV)
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
Proverbs 21:31 (ESV)
If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
James 3:3 (ESV)
Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
Habakkuk 1:8 (ESV)
Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.
Zechariah 6:1-7 (ESV)
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Zechariah 9:10 (ESV)
Message: Horses have been designed as creatures of faith. It is often mistaken for the characteristic of courage. You see, the way horses have their eyes placed on their heads they cannot see directly in front or behind themselves. They are dependent on others for that. For Israel it was the prophet’s role to help the people to see and sometimes they used the image of the horse to help tell the story. It is not surprising that the horse occupies an important place in the literature and history of the peoples of the Bible, just as it does the people of America on this day. Commentators suggest that the Jews might have become acquainted with the animal while in Egypt; certainly the image of Pharaoh’s chariots plunging into the once-parted Red Sea is etched upon the story of the Exodus. So too the image of Jesus in ultimate judgment coming on a white horse with His robe dipped in blood. We today, in the U.S., have the image of Teddy Roosevelt on a horse and of Paul Revere riding to sound the alarm. But biblically the animal is typically used as a metaphor for trust in armies instead of God, of impending destruction, but also sometimes of rescue and the training we need to have to succeed. But friends, maybe there is something to all this stuff about horses beyond the symbol. A friend of mine uses horses to help train up those who have been rescued from the sex trade. Horses are also used with people suffering from other traumatic stresses and disabilities. Hippo therapy is a counterbalance the image of dreadful horses as a portent of bad things to come. Because horses are capable of showing us not only how they are feeling but express their feelings in very honest ways that can be easily seen if we pay attention, they are natural supports for people in emotional pain. I find it interesting that the cost of rescuing an injured thoroughbred racehorse is about that same as the annual cost of rescuing a child in the United States from sex trafficking. There are 300,000 U.S. children that are sex trafficked in America today. Would it not be great to rescue both the injured horses and the children? Winston Churchill said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” John Steinbeck said, “A man on a horse is spiritually as well as physically bigger than a man on foot.” Maybe there is a better use for horses than making glue. Maybe they could help bond the broken to the beloved.
Pray we thirst for wholeness. Pray we take the image of our humanity to a new level. Pray we quest for the best. Pray we not settle for being average. Pray we recognize the trumpet’s call. Pray we believe in the promises of God’s support and rescue. Pray God right now be part of our training process and those of horses too. Pray we run with the horses. Pray we finish the race victorious.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 